Beach Days and Adiós Summer 2016

We had the glorious opportunity to tag along on family vacation for a few days with my in laws earlier this week. It was so special! It was Lincoln's first overnight trip to the beach and he loved it. He was fearless with the ocean. He loved jumping in the waves and falling down and pretty much rolling in the sand. It was quite a challenge to clean him up after each trip to the beach, but so worth it. 

He is in the midst of what seems to be another language explosion. He came up with names for everyone, Gigi, Pop Pop, Livy (Olivia), Kunkle (Uncle Schuyler) and Bobo (Cameron-- CamBo). It's so sweet seeing these relationships form. He's recognized his grandparents, aunts and uncles for a while and gets so excited to see them, but it's really sweet to see him interact with them. He was super snuggly when we left and gave everyone snuggles and kisses. It was so cute! He loved talking about water, the ocean, and last night when we were getting ready for bed he was telling me about the waves.

On the parent front, it's been a trying couple of days. Language explosion, a little cold and maybe some molars coming in has interrupted sleep pretty much every night for a week or so. Failed attempts at getting him back to sleep in his own bed has resulted in some semi-sleepless rest-of-the-nights with a toddler sleeping sideways in our bed, giving me a facial with his feet. There's also been some really sweet moments where he snuggles up to me and says mama, hey and then drifts back to sleep. He's never been great at sleeping in our bed, but lately it's been the norm and sleep deprivation aside, it's been a welcomed change of pace. He's becoming so independent and on the go, quiet snuggle time is becoming less frequent and I've loved it. His crib is also a great way to trick him to lay down in a big bed. If you ask him if he's ready to get in his crib he'll say no quickly and then lay very still and close his eyes...

Overall, the beach was amazing. It was so nice to unplug a bit and relax before the new school year begins. Also, experiencing the beach for the first time with my one year old is something I will never forget. He enjoyed the beach on our day trip last year, but that was nothing compared to this year. Pure joy. ¡Adiós summer 2016! You were spectacular.

Tuesday night we took my big camera down to the beach to shoot some video (we're obsessed with making home movies lately!) and I had to take some pictures. It was just gorgeous out there. That was definitely the closest my Mark will ever be to a body of water again, but it was SO worth it. The video and pictures we got will be a sweet reminder of our first overnight trip to the beach as a family.